George E. Pratt

George E. Pratt, 89, of Sun City West, formerly of Acton, Massachusetts, died Sunday, October 22, 2017, following a prolonged illness.He was the husband of Joanne W. Pratt, who preceded him in death on February 2, 2005. Born in Paris, Illinois, on January 1, 1928, he was the son of the late Arden Pratt and Dora (Childress) Pratt.George joined the Navy on his 17th birthday and served during World War II, as his brother John had done the year before. He felt immense pride in serving his country as a member of the Japanese Occupation Force. When George returned home he earned his high school diploma and enrolled at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, IL. He was included in the 1950-54 edition of "Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities."At Eastern Illinois he met the love of his life, Joanne Waffle. They married on January 1, 1950. Four of their six children arrived in two consecutive sets of twins, and in 1964 their family was featured in Parade Magazine.Mr. Pratt began his career at Montgomery Ward in Chicago, Illinois. Later he worked as a systems analyst, most notably at Raytheon, the Sloan School at M.I.T., and Data General. He received his MBA from Suffolk University in Boston in 1977.Besides his wife, Mr. Pratt was predeceased by his brother, John Pratt of Auburn, CA. He leaves six children, Dr. Leslie Pratt of Bloomington, MN; Elizabeth Gamber of Sun City West, AZ; Jeffrey Pratt of Aurora, NC; Douglas Pratt of Hopkinton, MA; Jean Mank of McVeytown, PA; Marianne Knowles of Andover, MA; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.A private service was held on Friday, October 27th at Camino Del Sol Funeral Chapel in Sun City West. Please join George's family in sharing memories, pictures or videos on his tribute wall at www.caminodelsol.com.